Servant of the Lord

(Romans 16:1-2, Preaching: Pastor Stephen Magee, January 22, 2006)

Recap: Romans 1-3, 4-11, 12-15

This morning we return again to Paul’s Letter to the Romans, perhaps one of the fullest statements of the Christian faith in the New Testament. We have arrived at the last chapter of that book. This final section is full of interesting greetings and closing words from Paul. Before we look at the first two verses of that chapter I want to remind you briefly about what we have covered over these two years that we have been studying this letter.

Chapters 1-3 tell us of our desperate condition. Whether Jew or Gentile, all have fallen far short of the glory of God, and there is no hope for us in ourselves. But God has made His Son to be a propitiatory sacrifice for us, taking the wrath that we deserved and then rising again for our salvation. The way for us is the way of faith – faith in our substitute Jesus Christ who died for our sins and rose victorious from the grave. Our hope is in Him, and not in our own ability to please God.

Chapters 4-11 explore for us this great way of faith. We see that our salvation is entirely from God who has chosen us. Through the power of His Spirit we not only know forgiveness of sin, but even power over indwelling sin. As Christ lives again, so we who are united with Him live in Him, grow through Him, and bring all glory to Him.

Chapters 12-15 show us how we are to live as Christians, for we believe this gospel of grace. Therefore, we are not to live as those around us who do not believe. Instead we are to offer up ourselves to God every day as living sacrifices. We are to have a surprising love even for our enemies. We are to be submissive to ruling authorities in the state, and peaceful in our dealings within the church, bearing the weaknesses of the weak, as we fulfill the plan of God revealed in the Scriptures to bring the message of Jesus to the world through the expansion of His Kingdom, the church.

Immediate Context: Paul’s Passionate Appeal for Prayer – Prayer produces true servants of the Lord

Finally, Paul closes chapter 15 with an impassioned plea for earnest prayer on the part of the church. Paul is bringing a great monetary gift from the largely Gentile churches of the Mediterranean world to the largely Jewish churches in Jerusalem. There is danger ahead for Him and He knows it. He hopes to make it through this challenge and then to have a fruitful visit with them in Rome, before going on from there to minister in Spain. In all of these plans, he desires that the people of God would sincerely pray for Him. It is this kind of kingdom prayer that brings forth wonderful servants of the Lord in the church – servants like the very impressive Phoebe who we meet only in this closing chapter of this letter.

TODAY’S PASSAGE:
Romans 16:1-2 1 I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a servant of the church at Cenchreae, 2 that you may welcome her in the Lord in a way worthy of the saints, and help her in whatever she may need from you, for she has been a patron of many and of myself as well.

Our Sister Phoebe

This mature woman who probably led the delegation entrusted with bringing this letter to the church in Rome, was a commendable sister. She is a sister because all of us who live in the community of Christian faith have been united together through our connection with Jesus into a family not only of shared faith but also of mutual love. Paul uses a Greek word that has two components, “stand” and “with.” Though the Apostle must go to Jerusalem and will not be able to travel with the delegation to Rome, he wants the church in the capital city of the empire to know that he stands with this great woman Phoebe – that is, that he commends her to them.

He goes on to say that she is a “servant” of the church in Cenchreae. This was the western harbor of Corinth and a very important place in terms of the regional pathways of trade. It is very possible that Phoebe, apparently a woman of some substance and ability, may have been familiar with and experienced in such trade and therefore had other business in Rome.

What we do know is that Paul calls her “a servant of the church.” The term “servant” is used throughout the New Testament. Sometime it is used to speak of someone who is the slave of another person. Slavery was an accepted way of life in the ancient world, and many slaves were Christians and were active in the church. It is interesting that this word is used generally to describe all Christians as the Lord’s servants, and then that it is the term that is used to describe ministers (“servants” of the word), deacons, and anyone with a special task of some official service in the church.

It tells us something about Christianity that a lowly word like this in the world’s eyes would be the Lord’s choice to describe His followers, and even to refer to those who would have some kind of leadership or position of trust within the church. Here are some verse where our Lord encourages us to think of ourselves as the servants of others around us

Matthew 20:26 …But whoever would be great among you must be your servant,

Matthew 23:11 The greatest among you shall be your servant.

Mark 9:35 … he said to them, "If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all."
John 12:26 If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.

More than likely, Paul and the elders in Corinth have designated Phoebe as a mature Christian woman of special trust. She is also a woman of some significant means, who is financially supportive of the Christian message and of those who are working in the church. She is called here a “patron.” This word also has the word “stand” as part of it, this time combined with the word “by.” With her financial resources, Phoebe stands by people like Paul who are called to be servants of the Word.

It is furthermore clear that she is capable and trustworthy. Paul’s Letter to the Romans is no small jewel. It is placed in Phoebe’s safe-keeping. She will be able to lead the team going to Rome. Not only that, the Roman church is instructed to help her in whatever she needs. This is a blanket endorsement. There would be no opportunity for the elders in Rome to ring the Apostle’s cell phone and to double check that Paul was in favor of some specific plan that Phoebe had. Such a blanket endorsement can only be given to a person that you strongly trust. Apparently Phoebe was such a woman.

All of this is very impressive, but we have not yet really explored the excellent roots of such a person. What really makes her who she is? Here is a woman who is willing to leave everything that she has and to go from Corinth to Rome to serve the Lord and his church. She apparently has a sacrificial devotion to the One great “Servant of the Lord,” our Lord Jesus Christ. While she has more than most in terms of her finances and her abilities, that’s not the point. The point is this: She uses what she has as a servant of the Servant of the Lord.

This term “servant” is not only for us. It is the term that the Bible used to describe the coming Messiah hundreds of years before His birth. In the Old Testament prophet Isaiah, we find four servant of the Lord songs that tell us about Jesus. Let me just quote one of these to you:

Isaiah 42:1-7 “Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my Spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations. 2 He will not cry aloud or lift up his voice, or make it heard in the street; 3 a bruised reed he will not break, and a faintly burning wick he will not quench; he will faithfully bring forth justice. 4 He will not grow faint or be discouraged till he has established justice in the earth; and the coastlands wait for his law. 5 Thus says God, the LORD, who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and what comes from it, who gives breath to the people on it and spirit to those who walk in it: 6 I am the LORD; I have called you in righteousness; I will take you by the hand and keep you; I will give you as a covenant for the people, a light for the nations, 7 to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness.”

Long before Phobe was a servant of Jesus and His church, the Son of God Himself was described as the ultimate as “My Servant” by the Lord God Almighty. He came to give His life as a ransom for many. The one who calls us to be servants of the church and of Her Lord, first calls us to receive His great gift, for He has served us with His life and with His death when He gave Himself over to His Father’s great purposes.

Phoebe is certainly not the last servant of the Lord to receive the Lord’s grace, and then to grace the church with her wonderful acts of service. The other day I had a delightful conversation with Mary Ann Bell. She is a strong Christian servant who serves the Lord in both the United States and Romania. As the leader of the American portion of an organization called Romanian Christian Enterprises, she is a very capable woman. Among other things, she called to let me know that this organization that serves orphans and the poor in that country now has set up a program to hire Romanian interns who have graduated from high school who then spend six months helping with that work. Since she knew that we have some loved ones in that country, she though I might want to know about this.

Every time I talk to Mary Ann I am impressed with her. How did she become the woman that she is? Of course, she had compassion for the orphans that anyone might have who knew of the situation there. And of course she is a very able woman who can do many things. But there is something much more at work here that cannot be said of everyone. Someone like Mary Ann has been moved into a life of dedicated service by the true Servant of the Lord. She has seen Jesus, who she knows to have served her with His very blood, and this has demanded her response.

Welcome Her

Naturally we are moved by people like Phoebe and Mary Ann. Of course, there is some sense in which we must all be her. Yet as I have thought about this passage, considering differences in the body of Christ as the Lord has given us various life situations, gifts, and callings, I have made my peace with the fact that not everyone is actually going to be a Phoebe. It seems to me that a certain surrender of life is absolutely necessary for all of us. There is also a sense in which we all must aspire to give our lives fully to the Lord who gave Himself so completely for us. A big step towards this is having a right admiration and a sincere affirmation of the servants of the Lord in our midst. Welcome them in ways that are worthy of the “saints” – the people of the church who know that they have been made “holy” by the blood of a Servant.

Help Her

Do not envy such a woman. Do not discourage her. Do not try to convince her that she is being extreme in her devotion to the Lord and her service of His loved ones. She is just a servant of the Lord. She will not be helped by your efforts to convince her to settle down and be something less than that. Instead, let us all resolve to do what Paul commands us to do here. Let us help her.

The word translated “help” is closely related to the one translated “patron” up above. She has been a patron, a helper of Paul and many others. Now you be a patron to her. Help her, and help her in standing by her in whatever things she may have need of.

Mary Ann Bell is doing a great job helping needy people in Romania working through Romanian churches. Christians in America have an opportunity to help her by supporting a Romanian family that is adopting a Romanian child. But there are many ways to help many people that are giving themselves over to the Lord as His servants. You have an opportunity to support Alesia and the Camp family as they start a new business. You have an opportunity to help Matt in the instruction of young people at Exeter Classical Christian School. You have an opportunity to visit the sick, and to bring something of Christ from God’s Word and to pray for the weak. Some of you did this for me recently and it was precious.

Brothers and sisters, you have a desperate need to do something outside of yourself. Set your heart on that One great Servant of the Lord. Then go forth and be a servant of the Lord. Welcome others who serve Jesus Christ in good ways. Stand by them, and serve with them. For our Savior did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.

Ministry Without Prayer?

(Romans 15:30-32, Preaching: Pastor Stephen Magee, November 27, 2005)

TODAY’S PASSAGE:
Romans 15:30-33 30 I appeal to you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in your prayers to God on my behalf, 31 that I may be delivered from the unbelievers in Judea, and that my service for Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints, 32 so that by God's will I may come to you with joy and be refreshed in your company. 33 May the God of peace be with you all. Amen.

(30) The Passionate Appeal for Prayer

There is something in these few verses that the Apostle Paul is earnestly requesting of His hearers. He actually uses the word “beg” in verse 30. He knows that he needs something very much, and that they have an integral part to play in his success in ministry. The thing that Paul needs so very much is the heartfelt prayer of his brothers and sisters in the faith.

Specifically Paul asks that the church would “strive together” with him in their prayer to God for him. In making this request, he can count on the fact that it seemed to be a practice of the early church to gather together even daily for earnest prayer. Paul was probably not asking them to begin an entirely new practice, as would be the case for most American churches in our day. To ask an American church to come together for daily prayer is to ask a group of people to radically change their lifestyles. But in Paul’s day, frequent gatherings of worship seem to be an existing resource that can be appealed to. What a blessed day that was. This will be one sure sign that the Holy Spirit is in our midst to bless our ministry, if the churches are already gathering together in daily communion with the Lord.

Communion with God is truly what we need. Paul writes here in verse 30 of something that can only happen “by our Lord Jesus Christ” and “by the love of the Spirit.” There is clearly something important being said here about the presence of God. I wonder if we are aware of how completely dependant we are upon the work of our sovereign God. If we knew this, would not the church be committed to gathering together in prayer?

Listen to these words of Jesus Christ from Matthew 18:19-20. “Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.” I recognize that the context of those words is the judicial gathering of the elders of the church for church discipline. But surely we do not believe that the only time that the Lord promises to be with us is when we are helping someone to see that he has sinned. Surely God will hear us when we pray together that His own name will be held in higher regard in our midst. Surely God will have an ear for His children when they earnestly beseech Him, “Thy kingdom come!”

(31-32) The Content of the Prayer Requested

In verses 31 and 32 Paul reveals the specifics of His request for prayer. He asks for three things.

1. He needs deliverance from the “unbelievers” in Judea who are not yet persuaded about the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul is well aware of this group. He used to be a part of their number. He knows how devastating they can be as obstacles to the progress of the gospel. He knows that there are many against him, particularly because he is bringing the message of a Jewish Messiah to the Gentile world, and is having extraordinary success in this mission.

2. He asks that His service of bringing the funds of largely Gentile Christians to help care for the Jerusalem church in her hour of need will be acceptable to the receiving church. He believes this to be a fulfillment of prophesy and a tremendous opportunity for a powerful witness regarding God’s work of bringing holy fruit from the world of the Gentiles to aid His faithful remnant in the land of the Jews. Despite the fact that He believes that God has promised that such a thing will take place, he does not presume that the project can be safely undertaken without concerted prayer.

3. Finally he wants them to pray that he might come to them in Rome with joy and have a refreshing time with them as a Christian teacher bringing the powerful gospel of Jesus Christ. In all of these things he sees the reality and danger of opposition, the reality and danger of rejected ministry from even within the church, the reality and danger of obstacles to any future plans that he may have of ministry. Paul calls the church to be about the hard work of prayer.

(33) The Blessing of God’s Presence in Prayer

The passage closes with a benediction. This is actually the third one in this chapter. Each is different. Each one is appropriate to the specific context around it. In this case, I think it is important to see that there is a connection between the peace of God and prayer. This same idea is mentioned in Philippians 4:6-7, where the Apostle writes, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Again, we would do well to ask ourselves this question? Have we in the American church come to the conclusion that we do not need the great blessing of the peace of God? Is that why we have decided that we are too busy for prayer? In fact these four powerful verses lead us to inquire of our own souls very pointedly…

POINT: Why do we think that anything good will come from this ministry without prayer?

Illustration: The Korean Story, The Exeter Story

Before we proceed to the application for us today, I want to consider with you a post-biblical illustration of the Spirit of God moving His people to a life of concerted corporate prayer.

The names of Nagasaka, Underwood, Appenzellar, and Nevius may not mean much to most of us here this morning, but that is because we are not Korean Christians.

In 1883, a Japanese Christian named Nagasaka was the first foreign Protestant to arrive in Korea. He distributed bibles in Chinese and Japanese for the National Bible Society of Scotland. Two years later in 1885, Horace Underwood, a Presbyterian missionary, and Henry Appenzellar, a Methodist missionary, arrived in Korea. In 1890, five years later, Dr. John L. Nevius came to Korea to speak about his missionary approach, now known as the Nevius method. The method emphasized placing responsibility for the furtherance of the gospel in any country upon the new churches in that very land that was being evangelized. It therefore called for “self-support,” “self-propagation,” and “self-government” by the new churches. This Nevius method took hold in Korea in a way that it did not in China and Japan. It was a call for local Christians to carry on the work of church planting.

These were very modest beginnings for Christianity in Korea. But 1883-1890 was not the final chapter in the spiritual history of Korea. Something happened over the last four decades in Korea that is astounding. In the early 1960s there were about 1 million Christians in Korea. While only about 2% of the population in Asia is Christian today, there are now over 11 million Protestants in the land of Korea. The largest Christian churches in the world are in South Korea, and the nation is sending out large numbers of missionaries to the world.

How did this happen? In 1907, a movement of daily prayer gatherings began in Korea that has continued down to this day. Early morning daily corporate prayer has become the common practice of the church in Korea, and the Lord who commands us to pray hears and answers prayer.

Let us switch our focus now from Asia to America. On September 30, 1770 something extraordinary happened in Exeter, New Hampshire. Over 6000 people gathered without any significant prior notice, because George Whitefield adjusted his schedule that afternoon and agreed to preach in Exeter. Any responsible spiritual history of our town would have to tell that story. But it must be said that at present, as we look at the many years that have passed since 1770, it cannot be said that a responsible spiritual history of our town would have to include anything else in particular.

The question remains whether another chapter will need to be written. The answer to that question depends entirely on the work of the Holy Spirit through the church. Given that fact, it is hard to imagine why we should not be praying. Jesus, who told us to follow Him if we would be fishers of men, had an established habit of prayer. The Apostle Paul, the great missionary of the 1st century Christian church had a rigorous commitment to prayer, and in our text this morning begged the church to pray for his ministry. Why do we think that anything good will ever come from our lives, from our families, from this church, or from our ministry here without prayer?

Application: I appeal to you, brothers and sisters…

For this reason, brothers and sisters, I beg you to pray, I commit to prayer, and I promise as the Lord gives me strength to meet with you in prayer as God makes you willing for that spiritual service. Let me be specific this morning and conclude with these four prayer requests:

1. I want to see the church in Southeastern New Hampshire striving together daily in prayer. I beg you to pray for this.

2. I want to facilitate the planting of other churches in our region. I beg you to pray for this.

3. I want to see the church doing acts of service together for the glory of God. I beg you to pray for this.

4. I don’t want September 29, 1770 to be the last significant date in the spiritual history of Exeter. I want another chapter to be written in the spiritual history of this town. I appeal to you brothers and sisters to pray. And may the God of peace truly be with you. Amen.